Breath Test Feasibility Trial for Covid-19 Infection Diagnosis

Detailed Summary

Can Nanotechnology Biomarker Tagging (NBT) be used to detect COVID-19 infection in people presenting for COVID-19 testing? NBT can be used to detect the substances present in a person's breath. In this study the breath of people presenting for COVID-19 testing is going to be analysed. Analysing a large number of samples from people with COVID-19 (as confirmed by the standard swab test used by the NHS) will enable a breath profile to be produced, ie the substances present in the breath when someone has COVID-19. After the profile has been validated, NBT can be used to test whether or not a person has COVID-19 by seeing if their breath matches the profile. Using this technology for COVID-19 testing has advantages over the current standard test. The sample can be analysed immediately in the clinical setting and the results are available in 5-10 minutes, so if the person tests negative they can go back to their normal life straight away. The current swab test takes around 72 hours for the results to be available, and the person needs to self-isolate during this time in case they test positive, resulting in potentially unnecessary days of work missed and inconvenience. The breath test is non-invasive and is unlikely to cause any discomfort, as the person is only required to breath normally into the device. This study will also review the practicalities of using this test. It is quick and easy to train people in how to carry out the test, so it could potentially easily be rolled out to testing sites.

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